But that's not what Cruz was actually saying when pushing the amendment. He stated specifically that the bill he was then offering was the bill he wanted. That bill granted legal status to bring illegals "out of the shadows." Since that time, Cruz's team refuses to explicitly declare any support for deportation, and actively obfuscates their position or avoids it entirely with statements like:
"Cruz, in an interview with Chuck Todd in early July, declared that his first priority is to "secure the borders and solve the problem of illegal immigration. And then I think we can have a conversation about what to do about the people who remain here. I don't think the American people will accept any solution until we demonstrate step number one, we can secure the border." Todd then asks, "So anything's on the table? Potentially deportation or not deportation, but anything's on the table for the 11 million–?" to which Cruz speedily replies, "I think we should secure the border and then have a conversation at that point."
Read more:
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/08/ted_cruz_vs_donald_trump_whos_stronger_on_immigration.html#ixzz3rL6rvOzz
For Cruz, legalization has NEVER been taken off the table.